Look what I drew on my phone - Page 88 - maemo.org

Estel | # 871 | 2012-07-28, 18:41 | Report

chasetheangel, thanks! It makes Your painting work even more outstanding, then

cue, thanks, but of course I've saw it, and a few dozens of other DIY concepts. What I'm trying to achieve is stylus with smallest possible tip (that is still detected by #@$#@$ capacitive controller). Sponge doesn't work well with N950 (N9) screen. The more conductive material at the end, the better, but we don't want to use metal there, as it would scratch the screen.

Conductive foam is one option. SpeedEvil also suggested some kind of conductive clear silicon, whatever it is.

/Estel

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Cue | # 872 | 2012-07-28, 23:41 | Report

Originally Posted by Estel View Post

chasetheangel, thanks! It makes Your painting work even more outstanding, then

cue, thanks, but of course I've saw it, and a few dozens of other DIY concepts. What I'm trying to achieve is stylus with smallest possible tip (that is still detected by #@$#@$ capacitive controller). Sponge doesn't work well with N950 (N9) screen. The more conductive material at the end, the better, but we don't want to use metal there, as it would scratch the screen.

Conductive foam is one option. SpeedEvil also suggested some kind of conductive clear silicon, whatever it is.

/Estel

There is a list of conductive fabric suppliers here with their ohm rating. Not sure where you are but few of them are European.

http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=376

As for what type of size to expect, expect around a 9mm radius for the stylus (depending on the fabric you buy so mileage may vary).
It might actually be cheaper to buy a ready made one rather than DIY it because whatever material you decide to order there will most likely be a minimum size for any fabric sold. There are some relatively cheap conductive fabric stylus around.

At the end of the day you are not going to beat metal for size though. I think the best solution I've seen is the oStylus because you can see in the centre where you are about to write/draw it's very easy to DIY too, but again, it's metal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_ADw...eature=related

This is not very DIYable but the idea of a transparent tip is also food for thought

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5k3N9Gxb10

Last edited by Cue; 2012-07-29 at 00:01.

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Estel | # 873 | 2012-07-29, 05:06 | Report

Thanks a lot, Cue! Those materials help a lot.

But as per tip diameter, AIUI, it's about treshold set in driver, so material used *doesn't* alter diameter (more conductive != smaller diameter allowed). As long as there is conductivity between Your hand, through stylus, to area very close to the screen, it will be OK, as long as minimal surface where capacitance charge was detected is met.
---

That's the idea between this "transparent tip" stylus - in fact, I think it is DIY'able without much effort. As You may see on pictures from their store:

...whole concept is about having metallic "cross" at the end, made from thin metal (but, it still makes capacitance change to be detected "virtual" circle, as big as arms of cross), + transparent, non-conductive thing, that is there for convenience (+ stabilizing construction, as "cross" from thin metal would be easily bend), and most likely, for having something that doesn't scratch screen, at the end of metallic cross (which would scratch screen quickly).

As a cherry on top, they've made it in a way, that it's mounted on ball-like end, allowing changing angle (of course, ball is also conductive, and always in direct touch with metal cross inside transparent circle).

I'm going to do some tests and DIY stylus like that. for sure it *won't* be as much convenient as normal stylus used on resistive screen, but for sure should allow much more precision, than standard capacitive styluses.

As for materials, metal parts are piece of cake, while transparent circle may be done using many different materials - clear silicon (may be to "sticky" for comfortable use), clear epoxy (would need really clear one), clear plexiglass liquidized by nitro (and then, left for becoming solid again), cut from plexiglass without nitro'ing, etc, etc...

/Estel

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Cue | # 874 | 2012-07-29, 11:13 | Report

Originally Posted by Estel View Post

Thanks a lot, Cue! Those materials help a lot.

But as per tip diameter, AIUI, it's about treshold set in driver, so material used *doesn't* alter diameter (more conductive != smaller diameter allowed). As long as there is conductivity between Your hand, through stylus, to area very close to the screen, it will be OK, as long as minimal surface where capacitance charge was detected is met.
---

...whole concept is about having metallic "cross" at the end, made from thin metal (but, it still makes capacitance change to be detected "virtual" circle, as big as arms of cross), + transparent, non-conductive thing, that is there for convenience (+ stabilizing construction, as "cross" from thin metal would be easily bend), and most likely, for having something that doesn't scratch screen, at the end of metallic cross (which would scratch screen quickly).

/Estel

You are right the conductivity should not make much of a difference to its size as long as it's conductive enough. I don't think that tip is merely a metallic cross though. Judging by its opacity and colour I would guess that the actual plastic is coated with Indium tin oxide or something similar, so that the plastic end itself is conductive.
DIY Cross is good too though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0PmC...eature=related

Edit: it seems that youtube user also moved away from the wire cross and to a conductive transparent coating too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5ZU1...08E&playnext=1

s/he used a shop bought half-silvered mirror, Instructions here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHhB2...3&feature=plcp

If you have any coating equipment or conductive polymers you can achieve a more professional result I'm sure.

Last edited by Cue; 2012-07-29 at 17:41.

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Estel | # 875 | 2012-07-29, 20:19 | Report

Conductive, transparent surface is good idea for sure, but tip from stylus I've posted image to (and You've posted video earlier) isn't conductive for sure, IMO. If You look at it carefully, You see small metallic cross *inside* - I bet that it's arms make diameter of "virtual" circle just big enough, to have touch registered reliably.

Then, no need for expensive transparent conductive coating, and I really think they've just put cheapo plastic ring there.

Still, you links about conductive transparent surface is very interesting, I'm going to read it now (at first glance, seems less DIY'able, though).
---

I think that painting people like chasetheangel would love such DIY, affordable, high-precision capacitive styli, yep?

/Estel

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Cue | # 876 | 2012-07-29, 20:46 | Report

Originally Posted by Estel View Post

I think that painting people like chasetheangel would love such DIY, affordable, high-precision capacitive styli, yep?

/Estel

Yeah, I just hope chasetheangel et al are not upset that this thread has moved from the art to stylus chat.

You could be right there, I just thought the cross looks kind of small though, a lot of unnecessary excess plastic in that case, poor transparency plastic too. Maybe their older versions relied on the cross but I don't see it in the new ones

In any case, have you thought about buying just the replacement tips then DIYing your own pen in whatever style you would like? might be hard to find a nearby seller though.

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Estel | # 877 | 2012-07-29, 21:27 | Report

Though about that, but even replacement ones are ridiculously priced, cross'ed or not. BTW, You're right, in later versions they must've made it conductive. Cross from earlier version was about 5 mm in diameter, = minimum size for blasted fckn ipad, so I'm sure it was responsible for touch detection. metallic part in later version is too small, though.

Still, half-mirror foilf is very cheap, and it seems to be perfect material for tip. Elastic, transparent, and conductive just enough

/Estel

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wooorm | # 878 | 2012-07-30, 10:51 | Report

wooorm

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ranbaxy | # 879 | 2012-07-31, 07:54 | Report

Originally Posted by chasetheangel View Post

Stylus can't be used on the N9.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Capacitive-S...item35bc7f90a3

wooorm | # 880 | 2012-07-31, 08:22 | Report

wooorm

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